On Sunday, the Chicago Bulls announced the passing of Stacey King at age 59. Initially, he was a vital contributor as a player to the Chicago Bulls' first three NBA championships won in consecutive NBA seasons in 1991, 1992, and 1993.
We are devastated by the passing of 3x NBA Champion and beloved broadcaster Stacey King. pic.twitter.com/NSyeopd880
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) June 7, 2026
Later, King would transition to a broadcasting career as the Bulls' lead color television analyst, which made him a Chicago sports media institution. King will be remembered for his entertaining broadcast work, generosity to Bulls fans, and his three-decade-long devotion to the Chicago Bulls.
King’s prolific NCAA men’s basketball career
Stacey King played four seasons of NCAA men’s basketball (MBB) for the University of Oklahoma Sooners. King’s junior and senior seasons for the Sooners were outstanding, leading the Big 8 conference in blocks per game (BPG) averages in both seasons: 2.6 BPG in the 1987-88 NCAA MBB season and 2.3 BPG in the 1988-89 NCAA MBB season, according to Sports Reference.
King and the Sooners reached the 1988 NCAA MBB National Championship game and finished as National Runner-Up, suffering an 83-79 defeat to a powerhouse University of Kansas Jayhawks team coached by Naismith Basketball Hall-of-Fame inductee Larry Brown and headlined by NCAA MBB legend, forward Danny Manning. King finished his NCAA MBB career as a consensus All-American for the 1988-89 NCAA MBB season.
King’s immediate NBA impact
Rest in Peace Stacey King 🙏🕊️ pic.twitter.com/sxEMQLWELY
— Yvan Montgury, The Gravedigger (@YvanMontgury) June 7, 2026
Selected sixth overall by the Bulls in the 1989 NBA Draft, King was thrust onto an NBA roster with high stakes expectations after losing in the 1989 NBA Eastern Conference Finals to the archrival Detroit Pistons, who would go on to win the 1988-89 NBA championship.
King added defensive toughness and offensive versatility to the Bulls’ front-court bench rotation that proved invaluable to the Bulls' first “three-peat” run of three consecutive NBA titles in the early 1990s.
Forever a Chicago sports media icon
After eight NBA seasons that concluded with the Dallas Mavericks, King had a brief head coach stint in the Continental Basketball Association from 2001 to 2003 with the Rockford Lightning franchise. Eventually, King would find his second act with the Bulls organization, returning as a studio analyst on the Bulls pre- and post-game television broadcasts starting in 2006.
King transitioned to Bulls live-game broadcast responsibilities alongside the legendary broadcast duo of Tom Dore and Johnny “Red” Kerr and gradually transitioned into Kerr’s replacement as his broadcast workload was reduced.
Stacey King subsequently ushered in a new legendary Bulls television broadcast duo as he teamed with Neil Funk (Dore’s replacement in 2008). King’s final Bulls television broadcast partnership was formed with Adam Amin, when Amin replaced Funk in 2020.
The King and Amin broadcast received consistent high rankings relative to other NBA local broadcast teams, primarily because King’s talent for humorous catch phrases, jokes, and bestowing nicknames on Bulls players such as Derrick Rose (Windy City Assassin) or Kyle Korver (Hot Sauce).
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